Please tell us about your research project.
I’m a PhD candidate in history at École Pratique des Hautes Études - Université PSL. My dissertation focuses on religion in public life in wartime China, examining the critical interactions between religious groups (Buddhist, Daoist-influenced redemptive societies, and Christian) and Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist state in response to wartime crisis conditions in China’s wartime capital, Chongqing, and the other important 'free China' metropolis, Chengdu, from 1938 to 1946.
Could you please tell us a bit more about your scholarship/exchange programme?
My stay, spanning from Michaelmas Term to Hilary Term, has been generously funded by the partnership between EPHE-PSL and the Maison Française, as well as the 'bourses de mobilité internationale de longue durée' granted by the Programme gradué Sciences des Religions at EPHE-PSL. I am very grateful to them for giving me the opportunity to finish up my dissertation writing at Oxford.
First impressions of Oxford/the University?
It has truly been an enchanting sojourn. Despite the occasional pouring rain and wintry chills, Oxford has never failed to captivate me with an abundance of delightful surprises. Meandering through the diverse colleges has always been my favorite part of Oxford life, allowing me to foster a close connection with the university’s rich history and intellectual legacy. And, of course, studying at the Bodleian libraries is such a rewarding experience that one could possibly dream of.